Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-07-22
Salt in Tom Gresn.


For some time it was known hat salt
deposits underlie our country Large
quantities are found in the country along
the Upper PeCOs. The salt lakes near
Horsehead crossing have furnished the
ranches of Western Tom Green, of Pre-
sidio and other counties with this neces-
sary of life up to the present The water
Of the PeCOs contains a large quantity Of
salt in solution, and the deposits along
its banks must have been formed by over
flows Of the river, leaving g saline sOlu-
ton. Repeated Overflows and evapora-
ton of the reCeding waters, forming
the deposits now found in that part
of the country. The subterrRnean
waters supplying the PeCos flow
ing over salt deposits, becomes
charged with salt and keep up constantly
the supply of salt in the river water. Salt
springs are found all over this western
country, and wells which have been bored
at different places at considerable depth
at Big Springs, Colorado and in the neigh
borhOod of San Angelo have struck these
deposits, furnishing proof that immense
quantities of this necessary article are
hidden beneath the surface. Salt is not
limited TO any section nor TO any geOlogi-
cal period II is distributed all over the
earth and may be found in all sedimentary
rocks. 1t is direct deposit of primeval
oceans or lakes, the process having taken
place in CULTS divided from the ocean by
bars or IN lakes. either of them furnish
ing evaporation pans Of immense size,
the quantity of the deposit
only depending or the depth
of the gulf or lake and the duration of
time during which 8 constant supply of
the evaporsted water is furnished. In
this way the salt deposits of Wilizks,
Strassfurt and Speremberg, from 1000 to
5000 feet thick, have been formed and a
similar process on g smaller scale may be
daily observed in the Dead Sea- This
sea has several rivers emptying their
waters into it, but no outlet, and as the
Jordan, It's main tributary, contains a
large quantity Of salt, this is deposited
on the bottom Of the lake; constant
evaporation making room for new sup
plies. A similar process Of depOsiting
may be observed at the Elton & Dodge
lakes in Russia, the location of which is
much like the Dead Sea. BY evspora-
ton the saline solution is COncen-
trated on the surface, and be-
cause weightier, sinks to the bottom de-
posting first gypsum, then the common
salt, and at last chloride of potassium
and the salts of magnesis, which lessen
the faculty Of the solution to keep the
common salt, and, of course, contributes
q continual deposit of common salt. This
is the usual manner in which salt is
obtained either by natural or artificial
evaporation.
In salt works very frequently only 8
solution Of the common salt is mined.
Though gypsum, antydrid and the salts
of magnesis are generally the companions
of salt deposits, and if found they are found
in the order described above, mingled
by volcanic eruptions. The still
more valuable companions Of the
common salt, the salts of potassis
and magnesium, furnishing excellent fer
tllizers and carrying bromides, are more
rare because generally covering the
original salt deposits they are easily
swept away by rain unless protected by
Assays OF salt water
found in our country have been made
within our knowledge, but the bitter
taste OF the Peco3 water and that Of
several salt springs indicates the presence
of msgnesia and the probability that We
posits Of chloride Of potsssia will befoald
with It. Railroads will introduce capital,
the country will be explored, and those
hidden treasures will furnish a ns;n
factor in the development Of Tom Green.